The Brookline girls’ basketball team has endured a bumpy road this season, but it’s certainly humming now.
Led by a combined 60-point explosion from the dynamic backcourt of Margo Mattes and Geanna Bryant, the No. 13 Warriors stormed to an 81-60 Bay State Conference home victory against sixth-ranked Newton North Friday night.
Mattes, a Princeton-bound senior, led with 37 points (seven 3-pointers) while classmate Bryant added 23 points. Brookline (10-3) only had four players score, but that was all they needed with the star tandem running the show.
“We take advantage of opportunities in terms of people who we think are defenders who can’t defend as strongly. We just find our mismatch and just attack it,” said Brookline coach Kendell Jones.
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The Warriors used an improving defense to help generate momentum. They held star Abigail Wright to a relatively quiet 11 points and controlled the glass to keep the Tigers (12-3) at bay.
“It was more of trying to limit the amount of touches that Abigail got — [knowing] the small details of what she loves to do and trying to take it away,” Jones said. “Just a lot of film study and a lot of figuring out. Our goal is to take away what teams do well.”
Jones missed two games in early January — two Brookline losses against Newton North and Framingham — as he endured a bad bout with COVID-19. But he and the Warriors have bounced back. Their current seven-game winning streak includes an avenging of those two conference defeats, plus another big Bay State victory against fourth-ranked Walpole.
“It gives us the confidence that we can play with anyone in the state,” Jones said.